The present invention relates generally to flotation devices and more specifically to flotation devices worn around a user's midsection.
Demand for water activities such water aerobics, kayaking, fishing, etc., continue to increase. Families and individuals enjoy such water activities particularly “theme park” activities like water sliding, splashing and other thrill seeking water rides. Many establishments mandate use of flotation devices for users' personal safety. Even without such requirement, many users desire to wear flotation devices to alleviate their fear of water.
Conventional flotation devices such as buoyant vests are well known. As implied by its name, a buoyant vest resembles a clothing vest and can be worn to provide buoyancy in the water. Buoyant vests have two armholes for receiving a user's arms and they can be worn around the shoulders and the chest similar to a clothing vest. Unfortunately many of these vests are uncomfortable particularly around the shoulders. They are either too large or too small for many users with potentially infinite sizes.
Although larger sized users can fit buoyant vests around the chest, these vests rarely fit around the torso. Also pot-bellied adults cannot comfortably fit conventional buoyant vests. Note that water activities also require considerable range of movement of the limbs and torso. Many conventional buoyant vests restrict the necessary range of movements for users engaging in such water activities. Another disadvantage of conventional buoyancy vests is that they rise up towards the user's face and become a choking hazard when users are in the water.
Other types of conventional flotation devices are also known. For example, one U.S. patent discloses an inflatable personal flotation device, which is readily inflated by a gas cartridge and which includes an oral inflation device. The device is attached to the wearer by a waist belt and anchor straps joined to a second belt attached directly to the bladder. A gas inlet nozzle is used for both the gas cartridge and oral inflation device. Although this flotation device could provide buoyancy levels, it loses comfort and simplicity because inflation is required.
Another U.S. patent discloses a water safety device of buoyant material which is fitted by waist measurement around the user's waist to provide flotation. Contoured ribs of buoyant material on the inside of the device fit under the wearer's ribs, and openings in various positions of the device provide stabilization of the position of a wearer when in the water. One disadvantage of this water safety device is that the contoured ribs of buoyant material can cause discomfort by digging into the users' ribs or midsection. Because users come in many different sizes, it is also infeasible to provide different sized contoured ribs at different positions commensurate with such different sized users.
There is a need to address one or more of the foregoing disadvantages of conventional flotation devices and the present invention meets this need.